


The Wrong Type Of Beautiful

by plant_boi_potter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 1970's hogwarts, Angst, Astronomy Tower, Fluff, Hogwarts School, Lily Evans mention, M/M, Short One Shot, Smut, Snape is pretty, Swearing, Tags May Change, Unfinished Tags, homophobia to mask feelings, james has conflicting feelings, pureblood beliefs, slight homophobia, slytherin/gryffindor rivalry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-09-26 14:28:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17143469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plant_boi_potter/pseuds/plant_boi_potter
Summary: God. When did Snape become so irresistible?





	1. A Leap of Faith

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry this turned into PWP. Comment if you want me to write a full story based on it!

"What do you want, Potter?"  
"You called me a faggot." It rolled off his tongue as if it fit perfectly in his mouth, his eyes however, were positively murderous.  
James was so easy about the situation. It was irritating. And-oh god. He strode towards Severus with a purpose.  
"Suppose your not, either way you're doing a shit job of getting in Evan's knickers." Severus let his mouth curl into a half smile.  
"Who said I was trying anymore, half-breed."  
Snape's whisper was almost inaudible. "So you've given up?"  
Snape instantly recoiled, trying to put as much space between himself and Potter as possible. A fire exploded through James, starting at his heart, running through his veins at an almost alarming rate.  
James instinctively grabbed his tie, pulling the slightly startled Slytherin closer. "Oh no you don't..."

James had never seen him like this before. Maybe it was just the way the light hit him, or how his breath smelt like cherryade.  
Before he could think about any sort of repercussions, he lost it. He spun Severus around to lean out over the schoolyard, down at his peers while James got to work on his belt. Pulling him away from the view of the schoolyard, James settled himself on his knees in front of Sev's clothed crotch.  
Fingers fumbled over buttons and zips as Severus rutted into James' hand.  
His head was spinning and he didn't have time to process what was happening before James' mouth enveloped his cock.  
"Please." He'd mouthed the words around Severus' prick, hoping he didn't notice how desperate it had sounded.  
"Fuck." The curse was soft, swallowed up by the sounds of panting and low groans.  
James pulled off him before he had a chance to come. His hazel eyes made dark under black lashes.  
"You want more?" The question wasn't difficult to answer but it had forced Severus to look down into James' face. The angle made him look soft and fragile, the hard lines of his face replaced by something more genuine.  
He found himself nodding, almost eagerly.  
Hands raked down his sides, nails digging into his thighs as he rutted unashamedly into James' open mouth.  
Severus grasped the nape of his neck, forcing him deeper. His orgasm started in the pit of his stomach and he allowed it to be wrenched out of him, watching James with hooded eyes as if he was the only being on Earth.  
He came in minutes and James took it. He looked as though he needed Severus' come, as if his orgasm was oxygen and he couldn't breathe.  
James' cheeks were ruddy and pink. His face streaked with come and saliva, he sat up on his haunches.  
His eyes had cleared and he was staring at Snape again. The beautiful piece of artwork he'd witnessed come undone moments before had vanished. Whatever had taken it's place in front of him now was unrecognisable. James attempted to make a dignified exit before the full extent of what he'd done hit him.  
"Wait." Severus' voice cracked as the high from his orgasm fully cleared. A haze descended over him like a blanket as he let his head fall back against cold stone.  
For just a moment, there was a flicker of Snape's aforementioned beauty. But it was gone as quickly as it came.  
The door slammed shut, leaving Severus alone in the Astronomy tower, staring at the decrepit stonework.


	2. And Then We Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James is horrific at potions. Thankfully, Severus is not.

James scrubbed a hand across his face, staring plaintively at the annex that was the Whomping Willow. He was only brought back to reality when his thumb caught on his attempt at a beard. He laughed harshly. The dry air caught the sound, whisking it away to the unknown.   
Here he was, moping over a boy.

Was he really going to ruin his reputation for a feeling? A feeling! No, it wasn't that, this wasn't just one feeling. One feeling was manageable... But this...  
This was an explosion of stars. This was rivalry and fun and sex and black eyes and something raked with a such a soulful need that he had to have it. This was an effervescence of butter beer ready to spill from the glass. Ready to drown him, if he might be so inclined to drink. 

James steeled his nerves and finally moved from the window ledge he had been leaning against. He needed a shower. A shower and more of a steel nerve. He was a Gryffindor, and yeah he was proud but to hell if he'd let his pride sage his bravery to jump into the unknown.   
Unknown wasn't quite the word. James knew. James knew all too well what was coming, what he was risking giving up; his name, his family, his lineage. They were useful things too, it gave him something to lean on. 

Maybe he could work this out, he thought as he straightened his tie. The only question was, how? He tried mulling it over in the shower, but that was no use. He let the water cascade down his broad shoulders as basked in the realisation that, if just for a moment, he didn't have to think at all.

He wasn't ready to give up his Quidditch position just yet, but he didn't want to let this- let Severus go. 

He mulled it over again in Potions, allowing his cauldron to bubble over. Professor Slughorn only called his attention to it when a chalk eraser glanced off the side of his head.   
Half the class laughed as James flushed, rubbing his head as if it'd soften the blow. The rest of the class diligently got on with their own projects, taking no notice of the movement beside them. (Where uncut black hair and flashes of green disappeared, only to reappear beside the confused Potter.)   
"Here." Snape mumbled, blowing on the swelling of orange fluid. He simultaneously diced and blew, as James stood, transfixed by the deftness of his hands.   
They were pale and long, blue veins delicately jumping like dancers through the chopping motions of his wrist. He wanted to thank him, to kiss him, to lace his fingers through those hands and kiss him at the same time.   
"I hate you." He said instead.   
Severus flinched back, as though he'd been struck. "I don't hate you."   
For the first time in a long time, James felt small, timid. He tiptoed to the edge of the pot.  
"I'm-" The word sorry fell from his lips without being spoken. He rephrased himself. "I don't hate you either." The expression was meek, but enough of an apology for Severus to raise his eyes from the cauldron.   
His lips quirked upward almost unnoticeably. (Except to James who was noticing everything about Severus all too fast, for his liking.) "Full of contradictions aren't we?" He said quietly, almost to himself.   
James huffed back a laugh, before returning to his disaster of a school desk. A quick vanishing spell took care of the orange sludge congealing over the wood and, looking into the cauldron, you almost couldn't tell anything had gone amiss.   
Almost.

"Mr. Potter." Slughorn's booming voice carried itself with the man, his ungainly steps toward James' desk moving to the quickening of his heart rate. He snapped his head to the cutting board and the scalpel, where Severus' fingers had been wrapped moments ago.  
It seemed though, that Severus had disappeared behind his own desk. 

"I'm sorry about the-"   
"Sorry, boy? Why, this is one of the best Banshee Silencers I've ever seen. Where did you get the idea to use chopped hemlock! Why of course! Silly me! You must get these wonderful ideas from your father!"   
"Actually-" James caught Severus' eye from across the room. Severus shook his head, pressing a finger to his perfectly structured pout.  
James forced his eyes back to the wobbling chin of Professor Slughorn.  
"Thank you Sir." He said monotonously, realising he had to.   
"Maybe you could teach me how to brew such a fine concoction." The bell went.  
Slughorn leered at James as he spoke, eyebrows rising and falling like overactive caterpillars.   
"I'd rather not, Sir." James gulped, grabbing his bags and heading as quickly as acceptable towards the door. 

Severus was gasping with laughter, watching as a white-faced James Potter staggered out of the classroom.   
"What?"  
"I think-" Snape guffawed. "I think Slughorn was trying to hit on you."   
James was aghast.   
"I take it back." James folded his arms, waiting until Severus stopped clutching his side.  
"Take-" Another burst of laughter erupted.   
Finally, after much effort and even more stalling, "take what back?"  
"I take it back. I fucking hate you."   
"No you don't." Severus was matter-of-fact.  
"How do you know?"  
"Because I trust you." Severus withheld that he could see it in his eyes, in the way his cheeks flushed a little when he looked. And then, finally, he could see it in his eyes. Bright and expectant and needing.  
All James said was "you trust too easily", before glancing around the corner.   
He scrutinised the locked offices for a long time, deliberating. Then he took another leap of faith, like he had at the tower that night.

He kissed Severus, clutching at his counterparts' robes as the heat ebbed from his face and settled in his lower abdomen. He languidly traced one of his hands where Severus' hipbone would be if they were naked. And as Severus kissed back, James basked in the warmth of the moment, wanting to stay like this, enveloped in such rightness for much longer than he had.   
"One day." He whispered against soft, cracked lips, hoping Severus hadn't heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For ThePhoenixandTheDragon who gave me the confidence to keep this going.   
> And to A for keeping up with my nonsensical ramblings.


	3. A Conversation In Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the second time Severus has saved James. He's starting to think it'll become a regular occurrence.

"You're a leap of faith  
And then we wait  
You're the wrong type of beautiful   
And I'm the bait..." 

James groaned inwardly, his whole body felt raw, muscles aching every time he drew a breath. He settled back into the pillows at his head, drifting in and out of sleep.   
The soft, breathy sounds of the song enveloped him once more, wrapping him in a metaphorical blanket that he snuggled into. 

An hour later, the cold press of a washcloth brought him back to wakefulness. The water bit into the arch of his brow and seeped into his hairline, flattening the errant clusters of curls.

The dull ache seemed to leave him almost as quickly as it came.   
He didn't have time to ask because as soon as he opened his mouth, there was a voice. It was soft and hushed in his ear, the low murmur flowing over him as he struggled to concentrate on the actual information.   
"...distilled dittany." Was all he managed to grasp.  
"What."  
A huff was expelled into his ear before he was pinched lightly on the arm. "Listen."  
"I am." James struggled to blink the sleep from his eyes as he fought to concentrate on the worried black eyes above him.

Severus crossed his arms. "What did I say then?"  
"Dittany?" James suggested weakly. Severus seemed happy with that, continuing the explanation James had missed.   
"I compromised, considering you're in no fit position to swallow." Severus' voice was flat and his face grave as James twisted to look up at him. He was seeking those eyes. The lead grey swirling in and out of an expanse of inky black. He was looking into an ocean. 

Severus stopped trying to communicate anything. It was all going over James' head anyway. He leant back, moving to the edge of the bed as James rolled around inelegantly.  
He watched James freeze as the realisation hit him. He was in the Sick Bay, with Snape.   
"Where are my friends? Why am I not on the pitch?" Words died on his tongue when he realised he had no answers.

It hurt to watch. Severus blinked back sharp pangs of the urge he had to cry out in frustration. Memories came flooding back like sand down an hourglass. A strong wind had caught his broom at 50 feet in the air. He hadn't been able to stop it. He hadn't been able to catch him on time.

Unlike James, who didn't like to ponder on why. (He was just glad it hadn't been worse.) Severus would think about it for months. He was dragged out of his thoughts to the nagging of James. If he were in any position to, he would have laughed.

"How did you know to use distilled dittany for my bruising? Matron would have just used some fancy wand work." James had managed to sit up and was flailing his arms, probably trying to assimilate the wand work he was talking about.   
Severus was glad his wand was on the table.

"Don't do that." Severus rolled his eyes at James' pout. He gently reached over the bed, steadying James' arms by his side. James was okay and that was all that mattered. "And it doesn't matter how I learnt about the Dittany, all that matters is you're alright." Shit.   
He hadn't mean to say it out loud but James didn't look at him like everyone else did. Instead he broke into an involuntary smile that lit his face in a way sunlight never could.  
He only realised he was staring when James poked him in the ribs.

"Aw. You missed me then?" James cooed, giving Severus the lopsided smile he'd given to countless girls in the past and for some reason his heart lifted. 

"I suppose you could say I wasn't enamoured by the lack of your presence."  
Severus paused for a second, a dark look passing between himself and his own configurations of thought. "I also fully intend to find out who did it."  
"What?"  
Severus pressed two fingers to his temple. "Are you always this thick or is it a talent you only express when you need to do anything that requires a brain?" 

James looked like he'd been hit with several confundus charms in the space of the minute and a half Severus had been talking.  
Severus took James' hands in his own.   
His thumbs ran over the dark skin, as though the backs of James' hands were the most precious thing in existence. 

When he finally looked up, his eyes were filled with pain.

"I'm saying someone tried to hex you. I'm saying you could have died."  
"Yeah. But I didn't" The words fell too fast.   
Severus glared at him.   
James glared back, pouting again. This time it made Severus laugh. His hair fell forward, strands of black sticking to the heat rising in his face. 

James leant forward, brushing the fallen strands from Severus' face, curling them around his ears. "You always get so wound up."  
"You've noticed." Severus said mutely, but James didn't miss that he'd shuffled closer. 

James took Severus in his arms, breathing lightly through his nose as he buried his face in his thick, black hair. "You looked after me."   
He whispered. "Thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was kind of rushed, but I hope it was still enjoyable.


	4. Time May Heal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James doesn't think rationally when all he can see is red.

A week later, James stumbled upon a conversation he didn't want to hear.  
He listened anyway.   
"We saw 'im".   
"Yeah, had to do something about it Professor." Dennis laughed dryly. 

"I cannot do with you trying to murder my students." She said it quietly, looking sternly over her reading glasses from one boy to the other.   
"But Professor-"  
"I'll have no 'but's' Mr. Walker. Thomas, you're free to go." McGonagall made a dismissive gesture. 

James stumbled back, the invisibility cloak slipping slightly. He fought with the silky material as the first boy ran from the classroom. The door banged shut, a breeze sweeping through the hall once more before James was able to press his quilted form against it. 

He whispered an amplifying spell, the muffled voices breaking through the wood as if they were right next to him. There was no need though, because a second later a shout erupted from the room. It rippled through James' ears, leaving them ringing.  
"But he's a pouffe!"  
"I can't pull James from the team on the basis that he likes the same sex." James' breath hitched, his pulse racing as he clamped his mouth shut. He knew they couldn't hear him, but to him, the blood rushing through his ears sounded like crashing waves. He forced himself to listen. "However, Mr. Walker, it is perfectly acceptable for me to pull you from the team." 

James had heard all he needed to. He stood, shaking. His steps wavering left to right, like a drunk man, down the long stretch of hallway. He had names now. Names, faces and reasons. He wished he didn't. It was too hot under the cloak, giving him a claustrophobic feeling he'd never expirienced before.

Once he was sure he wasn't being followed, he pulled the cloak off. He couldn't stand the sensation of not being able to breathe. But it didn't stop. Not even out here, the cool night air flowing through single panes of glass, wrapping the halls in a thin film of cool air.   
He balled the thin fabric up before jamming it into the pocket of his slacks. He was suddenly immensely angry. A hot fire spread through him. The tight knot uncoiling from his stomach, sinking deeply and settling into the far reaches of his soul. 

"This is your fault." He screamed. The door rattled on it's hinges as it slammed.   
"What is it now?" Severus glanced up just in time to see James' usually handsome face twist into a scowl. 

It always seemed to be here. They always ended up here, Severus reflected, staring blankly at the window where James took him for the first time.   
"You." James seethed, stalking towards Severus. "You always have to make things so... difficult". He gritted out.  
"You seem to make things difficult all by yourself but if you want help, I can try."   
That smile, James fumed. He he saw it everywhere. In his mind's eye when he was taking tests, out on the pitch. An involuntary thought nudged through and for a moment, he swore he saw that grin at his last match, the one he'd played that had ended him in the infirmary, the one half the student populace had dubbed "the accident". 

"You!" His wand slipped from under his robes and clattered to the floor. He didn't care. He could use his hands. "You set me up!"  
"I don't know what you're on about." The smile fell instantly.   
"I used the cloak". James was still stalking towards Snape, hands reaching for the beautiful lines of his throat, ready to snap the slender neck they wrapped around.  
"And?"   
"Dennis Walker is off the team. Now, why do you think that is?" 

Severus winced as James came closer. "You know I don't give a damn about Quidditch."

"Exactly!" James wasn't making any sense as he stumbled over his words, grappling for any excuse he could. He didn't want to believe his teammates could be this malignant. This evil.   
Severus' eyes were filled with panic now, searching, searching for James. The James he knew and... loved. The realisation swept over him.

James seemed to relax, all the fight came out of him in a last huff of indignation. He retreated as the moon passed above their heads, pale light splitting through the large embrasure, coating every surface in an ivory glow. "I care about you too." He said, softly. 

Severus kicked off the wall he'd been backed into. He pressed almost cautiously forward.   
"Can I kiss you now? Or are you going to blow up on me again?"  
James' shoulders slumped. "I suppose." He sighed inwardly.  
"You're grumpy because you were wrong." Severus said it before he could stop himself. He wasn't wary of another outburst though. James seemed to be past that. "...and for what it's worth, I'm going to kill Walker and Lane."  
"Thanks." They stood in silence for a while. 

Severus stepped closer. James was about to tell him he was invading his personal space but as soon as his arms wrapped around his back, all the stress seemed to flow out of him. Instead, he held on. Held onto Severus' hips as though the moment they stopped touching, the Earth would crumble beneath their feet.

Tipping James' chin up slightly, Severus bent to meet his lips. Their mouths moved together and James was encapsulated once more, taken over by the now-familiar taste of cherryade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg this was really angsty and I have no idea where it came from.


	5. Friends Until The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James seems to forget he lives in 70's Britain and not everyone is as open-minded about some things as the Marauders. Subsequently, a conversation ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For everyone who wondered about James' teammates turning on him... I hope this kind of clears some things up.

"But you hate him!"   
James shovelled another bread roll in his mouth as Peter spoke.  
"I don't anymore." He shrugged, pulling his legs further up the bed. He shrugged, indicating that he didn't know how it had happened - it just had.

The bread and butter platter had been filched from the kitchen thanks to Moony, although James wasn't exactly the most grateful when receiving it; shoving a roll in his mouth as if by instinct, spilling crumbs everywhere and managing to look as inelegant as possible. Sirius hadn't even been offered any before it was gone.

"But why?" Peter pressed.   
Remus closed his book with such ferocity that the slam of the pages made his room mates jump in surprise. He then pointed an accusing finger at James. "He fell in love with him and conveniently forgot he's an asshole."  
Sirius barked out a laugh, the permanent scowl that had been on his face since he arrived in the dorm an hour ago shifting, a full smile gracing his features, if only for a brief moment.   
James glared at both of them. "And how'd you figure that?"  
Sirius smiled again, long hair falling in his eyes as he fiddled with some spare broom polish. "Just because you're an idiot doesn't mean the rest of us are."  
"I'm not in love with him!"  
"Yeah, you are mate, anyone can see that".   
"What do you mean by that!" James' voice raised slightly, colour springing into his cheeks. 

His shoulders suddenly sagged as he reflected on his current predicament. He didn't realise it had slipped his mind to mention it to the rest of the marauders, of which he relayed what he'd overheard while snooping around McGonagall's office. The rest of the boys listened in silence, waiting for him to finish before talking. 

"You can't seriously go around looking smitten and expect no one to give a damn." Remus said shortly. He brushed a scar on his hand absentmindedly as he tried to reiterate. "It doesn't help you that he's a Slytherin." He said absentmindedly.  
"I'm lost."  
Remus groaned. He lifted his book like he was about to try to smack some sense into his friend before Peter jumped off the bed, clumsily knocking it to the floor.

Peter repositioned himself on the floor across from James' slightly broken bedpost. He crossed his legs. "I think Moony's right about you being an idiot." Grinning, he looked to Remus for approval of the snide joke. Sure enough, he wasn't quick enough to hide his smile. 

"You're a dude. Severus is also a dude. Not everyone's gonna like it."  
Sirius chimed in. "It doesn't matter that they were on the team dude, you being queer comes before you being a person to people like that."  
"Oh". James voice was soft as he registered the impact of his actions. His life seemed to briefly flash before his eyes; his parents, his peers, Quidditch, his status. He may be rich, but not even wealth could save him from hatred.

Sirius' eyes flicked to Remus' and for a brief moment no one spoke. It was as if they were having their own silent discussion, leaving James and Peter on the sidelines. 

That seemed to happen a lot recently.   
James thought it may have been the gay thing. But now he was almost sure. He didn't want to lose his best friends because of it. He really didn't. 

"What gay thing?" Remus asked sharply, retrieving his book from the floor.  
"I said that out loud, didn't I?"  
Everyone else nodded as James buried his head in his hands, wondering whether Remus should have hit him with a book after all.  
"My life is a disaster." 

"Your life is a disaster?" Sirius got up, folding his arms in defiance. "At least you got bread." He looked down his nose at the empty bread platter near James' feet.

Remus grabbed Sirius' wrist loosely as he started stalking toward James' side of the room.   
"Not now mate, he's in distress." 

James was not in distress. He was, in fact, in emotional turmoil, to put it lightly.   
"What do I do?" He stared at the ceiling, half talking to himself, half asking for answers.   
While Remus and Peter looked almost sympathetic Sirius spoke up.  
"You take your Gryffindor courage, you man up and you tell anyone who thinks they have a say in your life to fuck off." He spoke with the passion of a deep-rooted anger and it seeped into James' soul, almost comforting in its agreeable anguish. 

He looked at Remus, his scarred face buried back in his book. 

James remembered when a pretty Ravenclaw girl had hidden a smile behind her hand when someone pointed out Remus' scars, or the various rumours that had taken almost a full year to quell. Someone had even gotten the idea it was all an act of attention seeking.   
And Remus had been relieved. He'd been relieved because at least nobody had figured out the truth. He'd said it with tears in his eyes as he laid on his bed, shaking. But he'd said it with such conviction that James had been inclined to believe him. 

He was friends with a werewolf.   
He was an illegal deer.  
And for Merlin's sake he was a Gryffindor.  
He wasn't about to mope around in bed feeling sorry for himself, that wasn't going to change people's minds about him. It didn't matter that he was arrogant, or gay or Fleamont Potter's son. People would hate him regardless. And he was strangely okay with that.


End file.
